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fragile
, she sternly told herself.
You need to be as tough as nails.
    “I’ve got your paperwork here to fill out. Once you’re done with that, I’ll show you around and introduce you to our staff.”
    Marissa opened her Got Books tote bag real wide so she could find a pen, dislodging the brown paper bag containing her lunch.
    “The staff room is through there,” Roz said pointing to a door that opened off her office. “You can put your lunch in the fridge. There’s also a large table where you can complete your paperwork.”
    “Right. Thanks.” Marissa left the office, trying not to feel like the biggest geek to ever walk the planet. She was so nervous. One of her friends from her last job had called it geek sweats. She’d really loved the people she’d worked with there.
    “You’ll like the people here, too,” she quietly murmured under her breath.
    Apparently not quietly enough however as someone behind her replied, “Some of them, anyway.”
    Marissa swiveled to face her, her face turning red. “I didn’t realize…”
    “Don’t sweat it.” The newcomer held out her hand. “I’m Jill Harris. Head of the circulation department. That’s what it says on my business card but around here we have to be the jack or jill of all trades, pun intended.”
    “Understood. I’m Marissa Bennett.”
    “I figured. I recognized you.”
    “From the parade? I can explain that.”
    “I wasn’t referring to the parade. I wasn’t there. But you and I were in the same French class together in high school.”
    “Oh. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you.”
    “That’s okay. I was about ninety pounds heavier then and single. My maiden surname was Naponetti. I married Dane Harris four years ago. He was in band with you. Anyway, it’s nice to see you again after all these years.”
    “Yes, same here.”
    Noting the paper bag Marissa held in her hand, Jill said, “Be sure to write your name on your lunch bag and water bottles before putting them in the staff fridge. Otherwise things will disappear. We have an unknown fridge Nazi here. I have yet to figure out who it is, but I will.”
    “Thanks for the heads-up.”
    “I’ll let you work on that paperwork. See you later.”
    Marissa obediently took Jill’s advice regarding her lunch bag before storing it and focusing on the paperwork portion of her employment. It seemed to take her forever to get it done and she felt self-conscious about that. Was her boss timing her, comparing her to other employees who’d filled out the forms?
    Okay, she had to stop this tsunami of self-doubt or she’d drive herself and everyone else crazy. Afraid of being overheard talking to herself again, Marissa kept her pep talk silent and succinct.
Shake off the stress and get moving.
    *  *  *
     
    Marissa did manage to shake off the stress at work but it hit her again once she walked into her childhood home and found her dad sitting in the living room, his attention focused on the pyramids displayed on the high-def flat-screen TV. She paused in the doorway, hovering there like a nervous hummingbird, waiting for him to notice her. She moved closer so she was in his line of vision without totally blocking the screen.
    “Dad!” She practically shouted. She didn’t mean to speak so loudly but she was getting more agitated and aggravated by the second.
    He nodded but kept watching his program.
    She felt like such a failure. There were only a few people on the face of the earth who could make her feel that way. Her dad was one of them. She’d married another.
    Both men loved her in their own way. Or so they’d claimed at one time.
    Wait, had her dad ever said that he loved her? Maybe when she was too little to remember. But not lately. Not for a very, very long time. A decade or two at least.
    Okay, she was not going to stand here and be ignored. She really should just go upstairs with a carton of coffee ice cream and eat her sorrows away. But that smacked of giving up and she’d